Soul Resonance
by BML Hillen-Keene
Summary: A demon is playing a game with Little Chris, his parents the prize.
1. Prologue

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Disclaimer: Don't own, there would be lots more baby chris if I did, cause babies are just cute!

A/N: I have become rather too obssessed with Charmed recently, espically since learning about Chris. To be entirely honest I don't quite know what this story is supposed to be, I haven't decided to leave it as a oneshot or continue it. Please excuse the spelling, I'm working on wordpad cause my word programme isn't working. Set after the last ever episode.

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Please enjoy, and please review if you liked.

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Soul Resonance

"Uh uh. You know how to play this game Chris."

The demons' voice was sickly sweet, and it made Piper shiver as she watched her youngest, her little baby boy stop, and his eyes dropped to the ground and it pained her to see such pure resignation radiate from the child, it was almost as if he actually knew and understood what was going on, on a level far above what he should.

"Now, you're going to come over here to me."

"No Chris, go to Mommy, don't worry about me, daddy will be fine, just go to Mommy."

Piper's gaze left her son for a single moment to look at her husband, who was in the grasp of some sort of henchman demon. Leo's eyes were rivited to Chris's back, and she could read the very real fear that Chris would turn around and do as the demon asked. It was a fear she and Leo shared about their son, after all, there was no way to tell how much of older Chris's self scarficing was because of how he had grown up or just in his very nature.

Nature seemed to be winning out.

Her gaze slid across the the demon, one she could not vanquish alone, she had tried the second he had arrived and her powers had had no effect, he and his companions were completely immune to her powers, even freezing had no effect.

"Baby, come to Mommy ok." she head herself say, frightened as she did so that he would not listen to her.

He didn't look up, his eyes still fastened firmly on the floor.

"Chris." the demon smiled, content in the knowledge that he had the upper hand. "Chris, remember what I told you. If you don't come with me I'm going to kill your daddy, your mommy, your brother you-"

"Stop!" Piper yelled, wondering just when had this demon spoken to Chris before? Filing away the fact that Chris didn't move, flinch or do any of the things she expected a little boy to do when his family was threatened, for later reflection. Wyatt would have been an hysterical mess by now she knew, that is if he couldn't just vanquish the demon with a blink. She almost wished her oldest was here to do just that.

"Don't interfere witch, your powers are no match for us, we can and will kill you easily." the demon sneered.

Chris's right hand curld into a fist and he raised his head, his green eyes looking up until they locked with Piper's, and for an instant she was positive she wasn't looking at her little boy, but the young man who had given his very life for his family, and his future.

Everything after that was like a blur of motion as Chris spun back towards the demon sharply, and before more words could be spoken his right arm shot out, two fingers pointing directly at the demon who had been speaking, and it was if a wall of wind smashed into him, throwing him and only him back and into the main door of the Halliweel manor. Chris threw out his other hand, uncurling all his fingers and ten threads of electricity jumped from them towards all the demons.

Piper watched in shock and fear as the electricity hit it's mark on each of the demons, the pendants they wore around their necks, and as her son concentrated all his power on them she realised that they were what had been blocking her powers. Mere moments later the pendants began to crack and Piper instinctively began blasting. She hesitated a little when she reached the one holding Leo still, but it quickly passed as Leo vanished in a wash of blue lights to appear behind Chris.

Leo quickly reached down and lifted Chris, moving him away from the remaining demons while Piper dispatched them. At last there was only the ringleader left, and he was already shimmering out before Piper had the chance to blast him.

"Well played Chris. Until next time."

The words echoed in the now empty hallway, and everything was silent until Chris suddenly broke into a terrified sob, burying his head into Leo's neck. Piper hurried over, sharing a worried look with Leo.

Who was that demon, and what did he want with Chris? Those were only the first of many questions the now very concerned parents had.


	2. Chapter 1

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_This is a bit wordy, but there are just so many ideas' I have in regards to Chris and they all want to come out to play. Anyway, I'm really glad you enjoyed the prologue, and I hope you enjoy chapter one as well. Oh, and I apologise for how disjointed the second half of this chapter seems to be, I've gone over it four times and just can't seem to make it smoother. Also, please excuse the format, for some reason the document manager refuses to do what I tell it too._

_If you enjoy, please review._

Chapter 1

The office Leo had chosen for his own when he had agreed to take over the running of Magic School was larger and far more airy than the one Gideon had used, and Leo much preferred it. It gave him more than enough room for the many book filled shelves, his ornate Principles desk and chair, and the play mat and travel cot that sat in the corner of the room behind him for when his sons came to spend the day with him.

Today he was supposed to be getting a head start with the end of year progress reports, but his attention had been constantly diverted to the sounds of Wyatt and Chris playing behind him. Eventually he had given up all pretence of work and turned his chair round so he could watch them.

Wyatt was five now and had a much better grasp of his powers, at least, in non magic company. In private with those he trusted he was something of a show off, and with such a receptive audience as Chris was, it was unlikely that Wyatt would ever really grow out of it.

Chris…

Leo turned his full attention to his youngest, his brow creasing as he recalled the incident three days ago, the reason Wyatt and Chris now spent all day in Magic School. It made Leo's heart ache when he recalled how blank his sons face had been when he had tapped into his Electric power, the power of the Elders. He had shown no sign of being able to do it before, and from what they could get from him, he couldn't remember using it on those demons three days ago.

He couldn't stop the slight smile as he recalled the long, drawn out process that was trying to get an answer out of his youngest son. Wyatt was always easy, that boy could talk happily for hours about everything, Chris on the other hand had never actually said a word, to anyone. Not even Mama or dada, he went straight from gurgling and nonsensical sounds to almost complete silence, oh he laughed, giggled and cried normally, he just never spoke. Piper in particular had been worried about this development and when she was feeling down she would normally blame herself and the complications during birth.

They knew there was nothing wrong with Chris's brain; they'd taken him to enough doctors to be sure of that. Chris simply didn't want to speak to anyone yet. Sometimes, however, Leo wished he would talk, then they could maybe learn something about that demon and the 'game' he had mentioned. Though what really worried he and Piper the most about it was the fact that the demon had implied he had spoken to Chris before, hence the reason both boys were spending time at Magic school with him, where demons could not reach them.

Why was the demon after Chris?

Demons after Wyatt made sense; after all, he was the Twice Blessed and powerful enough to vanquish powerful demons with nary a blink. Chris on the other hand had used his magic all of four times, and three of those four had been three days ago. They had known he could orb people to him, he had done that before with Wyatt when he powers had been lost, but after that he hadn't used them again, not even to orb a toy to himself, until three days ago when he had shown that he could use his telekinesis and the power of the Elders.

Leo had joked to Piper that Chris was just like her, trying to be as normal as he could, using his magic only when he really had to. But even so, with one so young there should have been accidental uses, and he never should have been able to control his powers as well as he had three days ago.

Chris looked over at him and smiled, and Leo hoped Piper found something, and quickly.

* * *

Piper sat down heavily on the couch in the attic, her head bowed into her hands. Phoebe and Paige shared a concerned look, but neither moved from what they were doing. Paige was by the map, scrying crystal twirling as it sought to locate the demon who had tried to take Chris, Phoebe by the book, flipped the pages forwards and backwards from the description they had found on said demon, searching for a vanquishing potion, or a spell.

With a small sigh she stopped her search, leaving the page open on the description.

_Soul Collector_

_This demon takes only the most unique of souls._

_The souls are normally young, never older than seven years old._

_The bearer of the soul needs to give themselves to the demon willingly, _

_but the Soul Collector enjoys bringing terror to them, _

_and will normally play some sort of twisted game before taking the Soul._

"What does it even mean?" Piper asked, looking up at them. "Unique souls. Aren't all souls unique?"

"You would think so, yeah." Paige answered, setting down the scrying crystal. "This is useless! Without something of the demon's I can't properly scry for him."

"Maybe your right Piper." Phoebe said, quickly flipping through the pages of the book again.

Piper looked over surprised. "What do you mean?"

Phoebe didn't look up as she answered. "Unique Souls, if we can find out what that means then maybe we can find some way to make his soul… well, not unique anymore, or at least trick the demon into thinking it isn't."

Piper and Paige both joined her at the book and the three of them searched the book from cover to cover, but found absolutely nothing on souls that could help them, and after hours of searching they were forced to admit defeat.

"Anything?"

Piper looked over at the door to the attic to see Leo standing there, holding Chris, Wyatt standing beside him. Both boys were looking at her with a seriousness she hated to see on their faces, but as much as she wanted them to think everything was normal they couldn't take the risk of leaving them alone, not with the demon after Chris.

"Nothing." She replied, stepping around the books pedestal. "How are my boys?" While she greeted her sons, Phoebe filled Leo in on what they had found.

"Unique souls?" Leo asked, looking down at Chris in wonder.

"You know what that means?" Paige asked him.

Leo nodded, then shook his head in surprise. "Wow, no wonder…"

"What does it mean?" Piper demanded.

Leo looked at them, his eyes gravely serious, he understood now just how dangerous this demon was to his son. "A Unique soul is a first incarnation."

"Meaning what exactly?" Phoebe asked.

"Meaning that unlike most of the rest of the world, he has no past lives." At the frown of confusion he got from each of the sisters, Leo continued. "When a person dies their soul is recycled by the elders and sent down again to be reborn, this is why people seem to just _know_ things, or remember things they shouldn't. Very, very rarely is there ever a brand new soul, usually it only happens after a period of absolute peace, where the number of people who died, don't match the number who were born. It's probably because of this newness that the Soul Collector wants them, before they become tainted by life. But for Chris to have one is…"

"A rare pleasure."

In their moment of inattention, when all eyes were off Chris the demon had returned, standing just behind the little boy, hand resting on Chris's hair. Wyatt had his shield up and it was obvious that he was trying to spread it out and around his brother to protect him, but couldn't.

"He has to come to you willingly!" Phoebe said. "You can't just take him!"

The demon smiled. "Yes, I am well aware of the rules of my own game. After all, it wouldn't be any fun to just take them. They always taste sweeter when handed over to me, the terror in them then is always far more pure." He then ignored them, knowing that none of them would dare try to harm him when he was so close to Chris. "Now Chris, are you ready to keep playing?"

Little Chris's face was blank again as resignation settled over him and he raised his eyes up to once again lock with Pipers, and his intention was easily read.

"Chris! No!" Piper cried out, but it was too late, Chris had orbed, and not to anyone in the room, not to anywhere else in the house.

"Well played." The demon smiled again, and before Piper could blow him up he was gone.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Chris!" Leo yelled frantically. "Chris! The demon's gone now, come back!"

"What the hell just happened there?" Paige asked, desperately trying to sense her nephew but coming up blank.

Piper stood, shocked, unable to understand what was going on. All she could focus on was the look in Chris's eyes, the look that was far too grown up. "What… Why did he… Paige!" she spun to look at her sister, and collapsed into sobs when Paige shook her head. Leo's arms were around her in an instant. "He… Oh god Leo! He knew what he was doing! How could he know what he was doing?"

Leo shook his head helplessly, not sure what exactly she meant, and unable to really comfort her because of that.

"Your sons soul is far more unique that I believe the Soul Collector knows."

"Don't do that!" Paige cried after watching the elder orb out and reform as two vanquishing potions hit her square on the chest.

"I apologise." She said evenly. "But I felt this information could not wait. Not if you wish to save your son."

"What." Piper said flatly, looking at her, demanding an explanation without the words.

The Elder smiled sympathetically. "As you now know, Chris's soul is a first incarnation. While this makes his soul unique, the fact is that he is much more than that. You see, souls cannot travel back farther than their first incarnation, which makes your son an oddity."

"Look," Piper said, getting to her feet and glaring at the woman. "I don't have time for this beating around the bush elder speak. Unless you can tell me where my son is or how to vanquish this demon I don't want to hear it!"

"You need to hear it." The Elder told her. "There is no way for you to stop the Soul Collector, he cannot be vanquished, merely delayed. You need to hear what I have to say, so that you may understand why you need not fear for your son."

"Not fear for him!" Piper roared. "He's out there, somewhere, with a demon following him and I don't need to fear for him?"

"Piper." Leo tried. "Piper please, just let her explain."

Piper glared at the Elder, but said nothing further.

"A soul cannot travel back further than it's first incarnation. Which means that your son broke every law, rule and belief by travelling back in time to before he was even conceived. No one has ever managed this, and there have been many who have tried and simply cannot go back further than the birth of their first incarnation. It's because he managed to do this that we believe there were such complications at his birth. That he managed to come back speaks of a strength in him, far beyond anything we've previously seen in a soul. Had he been returned to his own time before you went into labour the it would have been as if he had never been here and his soul would have formed and you would have a much greater need to worry than you do now."

"What do you mean?" Leo asked.

"When the soul of your son was being formed the future version of that very soul was dying. As both souls were simply different versions of the same soul, and there can be no two souls exactly the same, it's just impossible, the newly forming soul twinned with the one from your future son after he had died."

"Ok, but what does that mean for Chris?" Phoebe asked.

The Elder smiled wanly. "When one life ends the memories of that life are stored within the soul as it passes on to it's next life, but because of the singular circumstances of Chris's death and birth, both his souls simply merged so that in truth he did not actually die."

"So he remembers everything that happened when he was big Chris?"

The Elder gave a small laugh. "This is where it becomes complicated. Throughout history there have been records of twinned souls, normally in those with problems like schizophrenia and the like, only really dangerous if a soul of an evil doer is twined with one of good. People with twinned souls are in a constant battle with themselves because their souls are vying for dominance constantly. Your son is a different case. Because both souls are one and the same neither fights to completely control him, rather they work closely together. As he grows they will likely merge into each other until at the age the elder version of himself died, they will become one."

"But what does all this mumbo jumbo mean?" Piper asked, feeling her worry ratchet up yet another knot for her son.

"It mean's Piper, that in times of strife, such as this, the older, more experienced soul will take over, and truthfully, in whose hands could your son be safer than those that protected you all for so long?" the Elder asked with a kindly smile.

"That would explain why he can't seem to remember using his magic." Leo said softly.

"I still don't see why this would make Chris even more desirable. Surely big Chris's soul counts as a past life, doesn't that sort of tarnish the whole 'Unique Soul' thing?" Paige asked.

The Elder shook her head. "If you were to go back in time to just before you were born, and you died while your mother was giving birth, your soul, and all your memories would simply cease to exist because your soul was already in existence, and there cannot be two of the same souls. Chris's soul, being a first incarnation makes it doubly impossible for there to be any way this could happen, as I said, no one has even managed to travel back to a time before their first life before he did. From what we can gather of the circumstances surrounding his death and his birth, his very existence before his own birth caused a great number of the problems during your pregnancy. Your baby was dying, and before he drew his last breath he made the decision to twin souls with himself. We know this as fact as the decision to twin souls is always a decision by the stronger soul, to either bolster a weaker one, or to take it over completely."

The Elder paused in her explanation, taking in Piper's agitated manner, and the confusion of both her sisters faces. The only one following her explanation was Leo, and he was somewhat distracted soothing his eldest child, who had given into quiet sobs when he'd realised he couldn't orb his brother back to him.

"Suffice to say, the elder version of your son did not die in the conventional sense, before his body died, his soul had already left it and twinned with that of his younger self. To this effect you son possesses not one Unique soul, but two, and it is the fact that there are two identical souls, and one being so much older than the other, that draws the Soul Collector out far earlier than he would have come for your son. It is also the reason you should not fear for your son's life, his elder soul will keep him safe."

"That… That, Demon, would have come for Chris anyway?" Piper demanded to know, her face turning white.

The Elder nodded. "I'm afraid so. He comes for all Unique Souls."

"How can we stop him?" Phoebe asked.

"You cannot."

"Then how do we keep him from getting Chris?" she persisted.

The Elder smiled then, secretive and open all at once. "He came back in time did he not?" she stated serenely.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Piper demanded.

"It means," Leo said quietly, "That he beat him at his own twisted game once, and that we should trust him and wait for him to come home." He looked sick just thinking about waiting and doing nothing to either find or aid his son.

Piper turned to look at him, devastated by the very idea. "But he's just a baby!" she whispered.

*x*

Chris sat huddled between two large rocks, peering out across the vast stone cave to where the Soul Collector sat, perched on another rock, one leg swinging in time to the tune he was humming, a childish, haunting little tune that chilled Chris to the very core.

Somehow, he was sure this had been somehow easier the first time.

He tried once more to orb, hoping that maybe this time he could manage it.

"Now, now Chris. This is the part where you start to beg, and cry to go home; and I get the great pleasure of refusing each and every request. I can taste your fear, and I know how hard it must be for you. You were older the fist time I came for you; I can feel it. But I learn from my mistakes Chris. Your body is too young and too weak to last for much longer against me."

He grinned, and Chris huddled tighter, thinking furiously as he did.

"Don't feel bad Chris; I only ever go after the very interesting one's so early." The Soul Collection hopped off the rock, landing lightly on the ground. "Now, what's say we begin again?"

_Sorry for the long wait, and even sorrier for the longwinded explanation. The problem is that I know what I want to say but it just doesn't come out right. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed it and I will eventually post another chapter._


	4. Chapter 3

_Sorry for the super long wait. No promises that this is what you want or expect, but here it is anyway. Please enjoy._

Chris stood green eyes sharp and focused, but his whole body trembled from exhaustion. The Soul Collector stood no more than three feet away, and was smiling in victory. He had tried everything, straining his mind for what he had done the first time, struggling to recall how he had escaped with his life, and more importantly his soul.

But he'd been older then, nearly eight, and it was difficult to do the same things in a body as young, and small as he was now. It wasn't strange to have two parallel streams of thought in his head at any time, one was purely childish, and reacted to everything that happened to him in pure childlike emotionalism, but it was tempered by the older stream, the one that knew things, and kept him from completely losing it. He knew that Mommy and Daddy were worried about him, knew that they thought there was something wrong with him, but right now he was glad that this was how his mind worked.

His hands shook, a ruthlessly repressed terror as his younger self allowed his older self to take control, and to deal with the situation in the only was left to him.

The Soul Collectors smile grew wider and a hand reached across and suddenly the demon was right in front of him, face level with his own as long fingers carded through his hair, like how daddy did when they were sitting watching a movie.

"You're never going to see your daddy ever again." The demon said softly, sounding almost gleeful, and even the calm, rational older him could not stop the burst of terror that blazed right through him. The Soul Collector closed his eyes and shuddered in pleasure as the feeling bled into him, and when he opened them again, the eyes that locked with Chris's own were dark and hungry.

"You're never going to see you're mommy, or your brother, or anyone you love or care about ever again Chris. I'm going to take your soul and devour it and you will spend the rest of your existence in loneliness and agony. Do you understand me?"

Chris's eyes never wavered, but even sheer determination could not hide the flicker of fear lurking there. The Soul Collector smiled and leaned forward, closing the gap between them until he could press a loving kiss to his forehead. The older him fought furiously to stop the younger him from giving in to the rising confusion as the demon parodied his two favourite memories of his parents.

"Now to take your soul little one." The demon whispered. "This will hurt. I want you to scream and cry and shake with fear as I tear it from you piece by piece."

"Souls." Chris said, voice rusty and disused, and he could see the word gave the demon pause. "There are two me's."

The demon shifted back, eyeing him for a long moment. "I know Chris." He replied easily. "I can feel the younger you screaming and blubbering like the child it is. I can taste its terror. You are trying so hard to control it, but you are merged too much to find the distance from that terror that you need to beat me."

Chris was silent, but his thoughts were clear. 'I beat you before.'

The demon chuckled. "I win little boy. Concede the game."

Chris fought with his memories, memories of a life no longer his own, trying to dislodge the one he needed, but wherever it was hiding, it was resolute in its decision not to be found. Chris held the demons hungry gaze, and felt a wash of despair.

Finally he dropped his eyes.

The demon just smiled.

Xxxxx

Piper was sobbing quietly into Leo's shirt, trying to smother the sounds so as not to wake Wyatt, who had just fallen asleep no more than five minutes ago. Leo could do nothing more than stroke her hair and stare sightlessly at the wall, praying for all he was worth that Chris would come home soon.

He refused to let himself think that he would not be returning.

Chris was only three, and even with his older self's help, there was only so much strain a child's body could take… No, no. He couldn't think like that. Chris would be fine… It would break him in ways that could never be repaired if anything happened to Chris.

Memories of older Chris's words about his relationship with his father had made Leo swear to himself that he would never treat his little boy like that. He had perhaps taken it a bit far in the beginning, bringing the infant to the underworld while he slew demons in revenge for what had happened to the older version of his son; but he hadn't been lying when he said that it had soothed Chris in some way. Now that he knew about the twinned souls, it made much more sense.

He always made sure that he and Chris had special 'father/son' time for just the two of them; he did the same thing with Wyatt, and while he was doing that, his other son would be spending time with Piper for their special time.

He blinked his eyes in an effort to keep the prickling at bay. Piper needed him to be the strong one right now, and with that thought he determinedly pushed aside his doubts and thought instead of what film he and Chris would watch together on their next special day. It always made him smile at how different his sons were to each other. With Wyatt the day would be spent either playing a sport (his current favourite was baseball) or watching a sport. Chris preferred watching a film with him, and it gave Leo the excuse he needed to rewatch some of his favourite kid's films, or being read to.

Piper often rolled her eyes at the differences between their boys. Wyatt shared no interest in Pipers cookery skills, though he enjoyed the results. He much preferred to learn practical magic from her, and would constantly pepper her with questions about everything magical he could think of. Chris on the other hand loved watching his mother cook, and even had his own easybake oven and bakeware in the corner of the kitchen so he could 'cook with mommy' without Piper having to worry that he would go near the real cooker.

Leo blinked again, but this time it was not enough to stop the prickling and he swallowed hard.

Chris would be fine. Chris had to be fine…

Xxxxxx

Somewhere in the underworld, a little boy screamed.

_Ok, the bit with Leo got a little weird, but I just sort of typed it without thinking and I sort of like it. I know Easybake ovens aren't supposed to be for kids under 7 or 8 or something, but I just figured Piper as the sort to encourage Chris in all ways, and it's such a cute image, Piper cooking away on the real cooker, and Chris making cookies with his little oven at the same time._

_I hope you enjoyed and that it is in keeping with the other chapters. One or two more chapters and that will be it I think._


	5. Chapter 4

_Ok, here goes. What is happening to little Chris?_

Chris screamed.

Chris snapped.

The older him took control in a way he never had before, and mid scream the sound changed from terror to anger and the demon was sent hurtling backwards to the far side of the cavern.

"No." he panted.

The Soul Collector got his feet, shaking his head, disappointed. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this Chris." He said all faux sadness. "But I see I am going to have to make good on my threats. I will be back."

He was gone, and Chris had a sickening feeling deep inside him, and the image of his mother, broken on the floor of the manor burned into his head, and he understood now, understood at long last what had really killed her.

But… six years, the Soul Collector had waited six years before killing her… why? Would he wait just as long this time? Chris didn't think so. With a muted growl he gathered his magic around him and orbed, slicing through the demonic magic that had prevented him from doing so before.

He arrived in his parents' bedroom a mere instant behind the demon, a quick flick of his wrist sent the demon crashing into the wall, disrupting the energy he was intending to use to kill his family. "I concede!" he screamed. "I concede! You win!"

"Chris?" his mother sounded shocked, frightened, but Chris couldn't let himself worry about that, couldn't let himself think, give in to the little boy clamouring for his mommy.

"He killed you mom." Chris said. "He killed you. He let me think I'd won, and then he came back and he killed you."

He knew his mother understood what he meant. The Incident.

The Demon was on his feet again and grinning. "I knew you would come around Chris."

Chris stood still and waited for the demon to approach him. His mother was already trying to use her magic, but the Soul Collector was more powerful than any other demon, and could never be vanquished. He was older than time itself; the one true devil. Chris finally understood that, after so many years, after facing him again, he understood that this was evil beyond all other evils.

The demon knelt and reached out his hand to rest it on Chris's head. "You understand now little boy, don't you. How futile it all is. You know I will never stop wanting your soul. That I will destroy everything you hold dear until at last you break down and beg for me to take it."

Chris swallowed and shut his eyes. Had he lived longer in his own world, his first life he might have broken down, might had begged for relief. Had he not succeeded that might have been his fate. Now… now he might have the chance to rectify it. To ensure his family would be safe. His green eyes opened, blazing with determination. He would take this chance.

"I give you my soul."

"Then your family will be spared." The Soul Collector promised.

Chris ignored his mother's screams, his father's pleading, his brother's sobs and his aunt's yells. This demon did not lie. They would be safe. His only regret was that he would not get to see it.

Agony ripped through him then, and he did briefly regret not having asked to have this done somewhere else, so that his family would not have to suffer the sight of it. He took the brunt of it, lamenting that when he was gone his younger soul would suffer without his protection; but it needed to be done, and his younger self would understand…

He jerked in pain and he felt the demons lust and hunger for the souls contained within his body. This was… had to be… the right thing to do… anything else would only end in more suffering… and it wasn't like they wouldn't get over his loss… After all, he wasn't—

"NOOOOOO!"

A shaft of light ripped through his consciousness, and he could feel the child him, the him from this time surge into him, spreading out into places in his mind he had kept hidden and away from the fragile innocence that was his other half. He could feel them merging, more than he had ever allowed before, and could only think it was because the child was afraid to be left alone, and he could understand that, so he opened himself up more, hoping that by doing so he could protect the child from harm.

But the child him did not stop there, it spread beyond him and surged towards the demon. Chris reached out to stop him, but it was too late.

"Nononononononononono notgoingtodie mommywouldmissus daddywouldcry wyattwouldhate can'tdie won'tletyoudie needtolive nothingwillberightifwedon'tlive wearegoingtolive!"

It was said so fast that Chris could not follow it, but there was a burst of warmth that made him feel whole for the first time since before the Incident, and his final thought before everything went completely white was that this was what he had been forgetting.

_Oooook… I have no words for this, really, it sort of just poured out of me, but only one more chapter to go now._

_Note: in regards to the Incident, I can't remember if it was ever explained beyond Piper just dying when Chris was fourteen or not, and rewatching the episode is just more hassle that I can currently be bothered to go to right at this moment. But this is my explanation for it._


	6. Chapter 5

_ F__inal chapter (there may be an epilogue, I have yet to decide on that)_

The Soul Collector bared his teeth in a feral grin as he reached out and took what was rightfully his. All Unique souls belonged to him, and none escaped him. How the Elders in all their omnipotence did not see his each and every victory he couldn't begin to guess; he looked forward to the day they finally did.

Everything he did was part of his game; some he took young; because their fresh terror and innocence sated his lust to handle and devour unique souls. Some he let live, and of those there were the ones he tempted to him, with promises and power; and then there were those he made suffer; to whom he brought destruction and death, and plagued them with such despair that they begged for him to take them, to relieve them of their suffering, these souls fed his hunger.

Chris was special.

The Soul Collector was timeless; to a demon as old as him, time had no meaning, he was in the past the present and the future all at the same time, he could cross space and worlds, and even futures since erased were available to him to play in. So he knew that he had already toyed with this boy's soul and decided to make him suffer, and he had suffered so delightfully. But here before him now he had the perfect way to sate both his lust and his hunger at once.

His eyes were black with desire, and he leaned in, to breath in the scent of terror mingled with resignation and regret. The Souls he reached to consume felt nearly as timeless as he, were together like this. There had only been one other Soul that had felt as timeless as he despite being so new; it had been the only soul to escape him; his faith refusing to allow him to give in to his temptations; even when dying he had refused to beg for him.

The Soul Collector would not fail again.

But as he stroked the souls that were now his; sending waves of pain through them he felt something. Something bright.

"It won't work little one." He whispered softly, closing his eyes and shuddering in pleasure as the brightness came towards him.

Xxxxxxxxx

"notgoingtodie."

The child soul surged and fought, filling every gap in the older soul, refusing to stay apart any longer; refusing to let himself be weighed down by self-doubts anymore. He knew, by instinct and faith alone, that they would be missed, that everything would fall apart without them… without him. The demon would win, and he did not like it when demons won.

He hadn't given up when Wyatt had turned.

He hadn't given up when he had been on the brink of death.

He hadn't given up in his life before, and he would not be giving up now.

He was Christopher Perry Halliwell, and he was going to live.

He'd fought to long and too hard to die now.

"notgoingtolethimwin."

He could stop him… all he had to do was…

Let go…

The child soul of Chris laughed with delight as finally the older soul understood. He was a new person now; clinging to a future that no longer existed was pointless. That life was over before it had begun, but its lessons had been learned and would not be repeated. It was time to live this life.

Xxxxxxxx

There was a sudden and complete silence in the room, as if every sound had ceased to exist; those held back by the power of the Soul Collector could do nothing but watch as a shift came in the air, and the small child, who had been screaming in pain, jerking and twitching as his soul was ripped from him, stopped screaming, and stilled.

His eyes opened slowly and he looked at the demon kneeling before him, so enraptured by the soul he was taking. Very slowly a small hand reached forwards until it rested in the middle of the demons chest.

"No." he said, and it cut across the silent room like a knife.

His hand curled into a fist, and suddenly the demon was choking and stumbled backwards.

"I can't kill you. I know you can't die." Chris said, sounding so much like Big Chris. "But I promise you that nothing you can ever do will make me give myself to you. Never."

The Soul Collector fought off the effects of his telekinesis. "What about your family Chris?" he asked, flicking a hand towards Chris's family.

Chris didn't even twitch, but the demons magic fizzled out before it reached his family. "I'm strong enough to save them from you."

The Soul Collector got to his feet and laughed. "I knew you were special Chris; a Timeless Soul. You and I will meet again. Game well played boy."

And with that he was gone, and the room became unfrozen and sound returned once more to those struck silent. But still no one moved, and no one spoke.

Inside Chris two souls completed their merge; and the older soul surrendered it's consciousness to the younger, and Chris became a single stream at last. Between one blink and the next Chris was something more than a child, but at the same time more a child than ever.

_So… only an epilogue and we're done here. I think this took a turn since I started it up again, don't ask me why, it just felt right. I hope you enjoyed it._

_I would reference who the first soul the Soul Collector failed to capture was but I know that sometimes religious things can be taken the wrong way, so I'll leave it up to you who it is. As to the fact that every Soul starts off unique; Well… I'll leave that for the possible sequel I'm toying with._


	7. Epilogue

_ E__pilogue and real end to this story. There may be a sequel, but it probably won't be soon._

Chris was like a completely different child. That was the only way Piper and Leo could explain it. They worried constantly that the demon had done some irreparable damage, worried that the demon would come back.

They had tried talking to Chris after it had happened, separately and together, but their youngest just smiled at them each time, a smile too old for him, but easy and confident. One good point was that Chris had finally started talking; not overmuch, and not like he had to the demon, but he was talking.

They had tried asking the Elders for some kind of explanation, but all they got in return was a "His twin souls have merged completely, before time, but there is nothing to worry over."

That did not stop Piper and Leo searching their child's face, trying to pick up any clue as to just how much of big Chris was there, and how much was their own little baby boy.

As the weeks passed, and bled into months the incident was put behind them, slowly and with care, never forgotten. Piper could not stop her mind wandering back to her son's words. "He killed you mom." And she wasn't sure if she was glad she knew what to watch out for, or terrified.

Big Chris was gone now, that much they were certain of at last; his memories remained, and Chris would sometimes crawl into bed with them at night and tell them about some of his dreams, about the things that had happened before he was born, and about a future that was dark and frightening.

All Leo and Piper could hope, was that the Soul Collector would not return until Chris was grown, if he had to return at all.

_Finished at last. Sigh… man that took some effort to get out, but I am glad I finished it._


End file.
